Multifrequency study of the ring nebula SG 13

We investigate the morphology and kinematics of the interstellar medium in the environs of the open cluster Mrk 50, which includes the Wolf–Rayet star WR 157 and a number of early B-type stars. The analysis was performed using radio continuum images at 408 and 1420 MHz, and H  i 21-cm line data taken from the Canadian Galactic Plane Survey, molecular observations of the ¹²CO  ( J = 1 → 0)  line at 115 GHz from the Five College Radio Astronomy Observatory and available mid- and far-infrared (FIR) observations obtained with the Midcourse Space Experiment and IRAS satellites, respectively.
This study allowed the identification of the radio continuum and molecular counterpart of the ring nebula SG 13, while no neutral atomic structure was found to be associated. The nebula is also detected in the images in the mid- and FIR, showing the existence of dust well mixed with the ionized gas. We estimate the main physical parameters of the material linked to the nebula.
The interstellar gas distribution in the environs of Mrk 50 is compatible with a stellar wind bubble created by the mass loss from WR 157.
The distribution of young stellar object candidates in the region shows that the stellar formation activity may be present in the molecular shell that encircles the ring nebula.     

Emerging and Decaying Magnetic Flux and Subsurface Flows

We study the temporal variation of subsurface flows of 788 active regions and 978 quiet regions. The vertical-velocity component used in this study is derived from the divergence of the measured horizontal flows using mass conservation. The horizontal flows cover a range of depths from the surface to about 16 Mm and are determined by analyzing about five years of GONG high-resolution Doppler data with ring-diagram analysis. We determine the change in unsigned magnetic flux during the disk passage of each active region using MDI magnetograms binned to the ring-diagram grid. We then sort the data by their flux change from decaying to emerging flux and divide the data into five subsets of equal size. The average vertical flows of the emerging-flux subset are systematically shifted toward upflows compared to the grand average values of the complete data set, whereas the average flows of the decaying-flux subset show comparably more pronounced downflows especially near 8 Mm. For flux emergence, upflows become stronger with time with increasing flux at depths greater than about 10 Mm. At layers shallower than about 4 Mm, the flows might start to change from downflows to upflows, when flux emerges, and then back to downflows after the active regions are established. The flows in the layers between these two depth ranges show no response to the emerging flux. In the case of decaying flux, the flows change from strong upflows to downflows at depths greater than about 10 Mm, whereas the flows do not change systematically at other depths. A cross-correlation analysis shows that the flows in the near-surface and the deeper layers might change about one day before flux emerges. The flows associated with the quiet regions fluctuate with time but do not show any systematic variation.     

Polarization of Microwave Radio Emission of Flare-Producing Solar Active Regions

On the basis of our multiwavelength observations made with the one-dimensional RATAN-600 radio telescope, we study the inversion of the circular polarization in the solar microwave emission at different frequencies. The inversion is detected in the emission of flare-producing active regions (FPARs) at various stages of their development, starting from the pre-flare stage. During the latest 23rd solar cycle maximum, numerous FPARs revealed spectral inhomogeneities in their polarized microwave radiation (Bogod and Tokhchukova, 2003, Astron. Lett. 29, 263). Here, we discuss a particular case of such inhomogeneities, the frequency-dependent double inversion of the sign of circular polarization, which probably reflects some essential processes in FPARs. We consider several mechanisms for the double inversion: linear interaction of waves in the region of a quasitransverse magnetic field, the propagation of waves through a region of zero magnetic field, the scattering of radio waves on waves of high-frequency plasma turbulence, the influence of the current fibrils on the propagation of the radio emission, and the magnetic “dips,” in which the direction of magnetic field lines changes the sign relative to the observer. All of them have shortcomings, but the last mechanism explains the observations the best.     

The impact of the nitrogen-to-oxygen ratio on ionized nebula diagnostics based on [N ii] emission lines

We study the relation between nitrogen and oxygen abundances as a function of metallicity for a sample of emission-line objects for which a direct measurement of the metallicity has been possible. This sample is representative of the very different conditions in ionization and chemical enrichment that we can find in the Universe. We first construct the N/O versus O/H ratio diagram, and discuss its large dispersion at all metallicity regimes. Using the same sample and a large grid of photoionization models covering very different values of the N/O ratio, we then study the most widely used strong-line calibrators of metallicity based on [N  ii ] emission lines, such as N2 and O3N2. We demonstrate that these parameters underestimate the metallicity at low N/O ratios and vice versa. We also investigate the effect of the N/O ratio on different diagnostic diagrams used to discriminate narrow-line active galactic nuclei from star-forming regions, such as the [O  iii ]/Hβ versus [N  ii ]/Hα, and show that a large fraction of the galaxies catalogued as composite in this diagram can be, in fact, star-forming galaxies with a high value of the N/O ratio. Finally, using strong-line methods sensitive to the N/O abundance ratio, like N2O2 and N2S2, we investigate the relation between this ratio and the stellar mass for the galaxies of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. We find, as in the case of the mass–metallicity relation, a correlation between these two quantities and a flattening of the relation for the most massive galaxies, which could be a consequence of the enhancement of the dispersion of N/O ratio in the high-metallicity regime.     

Interpreting Helioseismic Structure Inversion Results of Solar Active Regions

Helioseismic techniques such as ring-diagram analysis have often been used to determine the subsurface structural differences between solar active and quiet regions. Results obtained by inverting the frequency differences between the regions are usually interpreted as the sound-speed differences between them. These in turn are used as a measure of temperature and magnetic-field strength differences between the two regions. In this paper we first show that the “sound-speed” difference obtained from inversions is actually a combination of sound-speed difference and a magnetic component. Hence, the inversion result is not directly related to the thermal structure. Next, using solar models that include magnetic fields, we develop a formulation to use the inversion results to infer the differences in the magnetic and thermal structures between active and quiet regions. We then apply our technique to existing structure inversion results for different pairs of active and quiet regions. We find that the effect of magnetic fields is strongest in a shallow region above 0.985R _⊙ and that the strengths of magnetic-field effects at the surface and in the deeper (r<0.98R _⊙) layers are inversely related (i.e., the stronger the surface magnetic field the smaller the magnetic effects in the deeper layers, and vice versa). We also find that the magnetic effects in the deeper layers are the strongest in the quiet regions, consistent with the fact that these are basically regions with weakest magnetic fields at the surface. Because the quiet regions were selected to precede or follow their companion active regions, the results could have implications about the evolution of magnetic fields under active regions.     

一种基于GIS的气象要素空间插值方法

根据气候学方程建立的多元回归方法,在地理信息系统空间分析功能的支持下,实现了西藏拉萨地区气温、降水等气象要素的空间网格化。得出,上述方法对拉萨地区等山地地区气象要素的空间网格化方面是有效的手段,该方法对气温的空间插值精度优于降水。     

阿克达拉可吸入颗粒物本底浓度变化特征

通过阿克达拉区域大气本底站2007年全年监测发现,以北疆经济区为背景区域的大气中PMIO的年平均本底浓度为10.08Ug/m3.可吸入颗粒物的本底浓度采暖期是非采暖期的两倍左右.可吸入颗粒物本底浓度季节变化特征明显,月平均本底浓度最高为12月,次高为3月.PMIO本底浓度的日变化不规则但基本呈上升趋势,PM1.0和PM2.5的本底浓度日变化呈双峰双谷特征,本底浓度1d内的最高值和次高值出现的时间段与城市相关研究结果相反.     

中国矿山环境地质问题区域分布特征

为了了解中国不同区域矿产资源开发产生的主要环境地质问题分布特征,为矿山生态环境恢复治理规划提供基础资料。笔者依据近几年全国矿山地质环境调查成果资料,首次对全国矿山地质环境区进行了系统划分和地质环境条件分析,通过研究不同地质环境区开发的主要矿产资源类型、开发强度、不同类型矿产开采产生的主要环境地质问题类型、分布、危害、需要防治的主要环境地质问题,对矿山开发产生的土地占用与破坏、地质灾害、环境污染的区域分布特征进行了总结。结果表明,中国中东部地区矿产资源开发强度、矿山环境地质问题重于西部地区,煤矿山问题重于金属矿山、金属矿山问题重于非金属矿山。